The Apothecary Diariesrecently wrapped up its second season after airing 24 episodes. It’s getting a sequel sometime in the future, with many fans guessing it will beSeason 3 of The Apothecary Diaries. Since the anime series based on Natsu Hyuga’s original work was released, many fans fell in love with not just Maomao’s charming and strong personality but also Jinshi’s role.
While fans adore Jinshi not just for his good looks but also for his character development, the creator ofThe Apothecary Diariesseemingly hates him. As a result, many fans were quick to defend Jinshi, citing reasons why he doesn’t deserve the hate from the author. They also scour the internet to read the author’s comments about Jinshi on her social media, but does the author ofThe Apothecary Diariesreally hate Jinshi, or is it just a misconception?
Jinshi Is a Fan-Favorite Character in The Apothecary Diaries
Jinshi Is Not Just Maomao’s Love Interest
When Jinshi first appeared inThe Apothecary Diaries, it was not just the fans who fell in love with his looks and charisma, but also thewomen in the Inner Palace, except, of course, the high consorts and Maomao herself. Fans quickly turned to social media to express their affections for Jinshi, highlighting his awkward but cheeky moments with Maomao and the air of mystery that surrounds his character.
Most fans seeJinshi as Maomao’s love interestinThe Apothecary Diaries, but there’s more to him than meets the eye. He is a layered character, someone who carries both charm and vulnerability underneath his calm and composed exterior. He’s not just a beautiful decoration in the palace, considering the weight of his role, as well as the truth behind his identity.
The things I truly want are so far out of reach.—Jinshi
If there’s anyone who could rival Maomao as thefan-favorite character inThe Apothecary Diaries, it might just be Jinshi. Hence, fans are attentive to every bit of detail about Jinshi’s character, including the rumors about him being the author’s most hated character in The Apothecary Diaries. Most fans aren’t pleased with these rumors, especially those who are strongly rallying behind Jinshi.
Why Fans Think The Apothecary Diaries Author Hates Jinshi
Jinshi’s Treatment in the Series
Many fans ofThe Apothecary Diariesare concerned with the author’s comments about Jinshi onher X (formerly Twitter) account. Anyone can browse her account, but they need to translate her posts into English to understand her thoughts about her work, as well as the characters she created. That said, many fans interpret the author’s comments as off-putting and dismissive when asked about questions related to Jinshi.
As soon as the author’s responses were posted, it immediately blew up, not just on Reddit but mostly on TikTok. Anime content creators were quick to post short videos stating that the author dislikes or hates Jinshi, among other characters. However, in reality, the author never said she hated Jinshi, and the issue was just a misconception from a comment she made a while back.
Accordingly, the author initially “considered a direction in which Jinshi dies,” because she never planned him to be as relevant and popular to the many fans of The Apothecary Diaries. Jinshi was supposed to be there just to represent a “handsome man,” or possibly a gag character, since her work is a “shoujo manga-style novel.” In other words, it was an accident that Jin-Woo earned main character energy, all thanks to the fans who made him incredibly popular.
Jinshi Is the Toughest Character to Write
The Truth Behind the Misconception
In a Reddit post shared by a fan who attended Natsu Hyuga’s Q&A session and signing event, the author ofThe Apothecary Diariesrevealed more surprising information about Jinshi. When asked who among thecharacters in The Apothecary Diariesis the most difficult or toughest to write about, Natsu Hyuga answered that it was Jinshi.
Here’s what went down in the actual Q&A:
Q:Who is the toughest character to write?
Natsu Hyuga:Jinshi. That’s why he doesn’t get as much screen time. When writing Jinshi as character, you have to think a lot about what he can and cannot do, his lingo, since he is a member of royalty. I want to portray him as someone who is struggling, but masks it, but I don’t want the readers to misunderstand that. It’s difficult to balance his struggles because if it’s too much, it would make him look incompetent, but on the other hand, if it’s too subtle, it may fail to get across to the readers.
From this, it’s clear that the author doesn’t really hate Jinshi. If she simply hated Jinshi, she could have given him little to no room for character development inThe Apothecary Diaries. Worse, she could have given him the toughest situations, where he had to compete with countless love interests for Maomao. Or, in an alternate route, she could have erased him from the story long ago by staying true to her initial draft.
The truth is that Jinshi is a very complicated character to write about. The author had to follow logic, including some rules, and find balance in Jinshi’s character. She can’t make him too weak or too strong, or else he might overshadow Maomao inThe Apothecary Diaries.
